Fiorentina fans haven’t had much to cheer for this year but, 2 days after a defeat to Inter Milan that confirmed the worst start in team history—winless through 9 Serie A games—the club announced that it’s
“mutually parted ways” with sporting director Daniele Pradè, much to the delight of some supporters.
Pradè, 58, served his second stint as Fiorentina’s DS since Rocco Commisso purchased the club in 2019, overseeing some impressive ups and downs. Through his work in the transfer market, he got the Viola back into Europe after a 6-year absence and built the teams that Vincenzo Italiano took to 3 finals.
Nevertheless, Pradè became the target of fans’ ire over the past several months following the deterioration of his relationship with Raffaele Palladino and his assembly of an expensive team that can’t win. A net spend of €30 million in transfer fees and the 7th-highest payroll in Serie A shouldn’t result in such a dysfunctional side, regardless of who’s coaching.
We’ll dig into the details over the coming days and try to figure out what this all means for Fiorentina going forward: who takes over the job (it’s unclear who’s running the show now, but my money’s on some combination of CEO Alessandro Ferrari and head scout Roberto Goretti), whether Stefano Pioli’s got some breathing room, and what this means for Commisso’s involvement going forward.
For now, though, I’ll echo the organization in thanking Pradè for his work and wishing him well. I’ll also echo many of yall in celebrating his departure. That said, I’m not interested in reading any personal attacks against him in the comments. We can and will be both happy and civil. And I, for one, am happy indeed, maybe for the first time this season.
